Biography

PUNISHER 2015





OMEGA BUILD

Omega Builds will undoubtedly take months, even years to master and discern each respective node and how it is compatible with your vision. As we exit the beta version of Omega, there will be tons of changes and tweaks to the system. With that said, I have in mind what I want to see from Frank as he progresses through the Omega System.

This build is largely focused on the "offensive end" of the power spectrum, so there are those that would rightfully argue that instead of focusing on the offensive powers of Omega, you should focus on defense, seeing as how this build lacks in that area. That's a very solid argument to make and I wouldn't refute it. However, as we as players get our feet wet with the Omega system, I find it best that my build is immediately affected in terms of visual aesthetics and effective combat. It is for that reason that this build will immediately delve into damage sources offered from the two trees I have pictured above.

Let's take a look at one of the most integral components of the two trees and how this node will will function as the so called (coined this term myself) "Feature Node" of my early Omega Build.

FEATURE NODES



Here we see the Needle Gun, which after some iterations to its former damage rating, offers 600 (per rank) damage proc. At first it doesn't seem like much, but it's actually quite impressive. With most investment into the various damage nodes listed in the various trees, most times you are getting very miniscule results such as 1% ranged damage rating, 25 or so physical damage and so on, which roughly equates to 100 damage per investment. That's fine and all, but you won't really start to feel the effects of these nodes until much later investment (into the likes of 10% ranged damage rating) and that's going to consume a ton of points. This is different in regards to the Needle Gun in that every second or so, with any ranged power you are getting 600 damage proc explosions that meshes with any power in Frank's kit pretty much. Whereas investing in the 1% damage rating nodes will take 200 or so point investment JUST to reach 500 damage, while the Needle Gun takes a much more modest investment of 100 points and you get more damage from that 1 point investment than you would from investing 5 times into say Assault Rifles node.

Here's a look at the skill in action as it procs on activation of Deadly Barrage.



Now along with the obviously cool visual, this is the most instant gratification offensive skill for Omega Ranged builds and it's accessible very early on into the Omega Build journey, making it an absolute steal of a node to invest into for early Omega builds.



There are some very smart choices abound in this build and the more your explore the Omega System, the more you begin to understand which role you wish to play. With the introduction of Goblin Formula we have decided to continue bolstering Frank's offense, thus deferring defense still. The way I see it, there is no better choice with this build, especially as you continue to figure things out. Invest into offense early and boost his defense later on, as there are plenty of points to be had and being able to immediately feel the impact of the Omega System is ideal.

There are definitely some interesting factors to this node to explore, but none more so than the boosts to Punisher's fighting and strength attributes. What this means essentially is 7% bonus damage to all of Punisher's attacks due to these attributes giving 3% and 4% boosts to Frank's primary damage respectively, along with the 25% boost to base damage fighting powers attributed by the fighting attribute.

The fun does not end there; however, as there are more bonuses residing within this one node; namely those of percent increases to both brutal strike chance and brutal damage. These are two key factor stats in this build and both are featured within this one node, making this a "no brainer" choice for those that follow this build.



Another brilliant feature in my Omega journey and this has the potential to be a permanent addition to my Omega Build as more content is released.

Lets jump right into the facts of the matter shall we? This Punisher incarnation is not a defensive buff or anything close. Your only defense in this build comes from a 17 point investment into Pain Tolerance, a 400 LOH core and Sandals of Hercules/Danger Ai Chip combo, thus it is safe to assume most times you are going to be fighting with at the very least 50% health throughout most boss fights. That's where the beauty of this node comes in, as you drop to 50% health a proc goes off and Frank gains a Hulk like green aura around him signaling that the proc is now in effect. Along with a solid visual you get some really outstanding stats such as a boost to your Strength attribute. Maybe you haven't already noticed by now, but you will also get this same bonus from the prior node Goblin Formula, so it is entirely possible that both these procs can go off at the same time. This brings me to my next point; Hulk Rage is more or less an endless proc, as long as you juggle your health around the 50% mark, then it lasts as long as your health is in that state. This comes majorly in handy in messy situations where if only you had just a little bit more attack power, you could spray down your adversary before the deliver the finishing blow and that is exactly what this node permits.

Here's a look at what the skill looks like once the proc has been activated.



Enjoy these two new feature nodes of the build and become Punisher. Punisher who as he takes more damage becomes a berserker and throws caution to the wind as he does whatever it takes to survive in a world filled with superhuman threats and galactic catastrophe.



The latest addition to the Punisher Omega System and I must say this node is quite a beauty.

First off let's discuss the significance of using a node like this that triggers off of vulnerability. The best way to do this is to explain what is vulnerability. Vulnerability functions differently than base damage modifiers in that it actually does increase your damage 10% as opposed to modifiers like Ranged Damage Increase, claiming to boost your damage by 1%, but in actuality, only increases your damage's base modifier 1%, which essentially results in a 0.1% increase. Vulnerability factors in all aspects of damage, whether it's base, crit damage or brutal damage, it increases it 10% entirely. This is what makes this node so much more attractive than other nodes in that by applying vulnerability you will immediately see an increase in your DPS, because it increases it overall 10% to begin with.

So what does this mean for me and why am I choosing this node?

Excellent question! Allow me to answer this in the best way I can.

First, by applying the vulnerability applied by moves like Proximity Mines, which you will use early on in your rotations, you will begin most battles already in position to see your DPS increases. What this node essentially does is apply another 5% damage to the end of the vulnerability and while this may seem like common sense, it's really not. A lot of people are going to be skeptical about % increases in damage, because of the fact it usually only affects base damage on such a miniscule amount, that's it's practically unnoticeable in combat. By leveling this node to its max, you are applying another level of vulnerability on top of the vulnerability already existent in your rotations, for a total of 20% more damage overall.

I'll be damned if that's not worth a max investment.



A modest damage node no doubt, but with its cheap cost and synergizing damage modifier to the build in place, prove it's a decent option for dumping points. This build has pretty close to 12,000 brutal damage and while this may very well be reaching the soft cap for this modifier, I don't think it's quite there, so there should be no harm in adding an additional +1000 brutal damage rating from this node.

Like I said above, it's a solid option for dumping points and gives a good return for what this build's featured modifiers are (crit damage and brutal damage).

THE OBJECTIVE

This guide is a measure of both the versatility present in Punisher's kit and a display of what each power is capable of in terms of viability. Within the guide you will find that micromanaging skills results in a more immersive style of gameplay and helps to thrust you in the world of quick reaction time and a total understanding of what is available to you as a player.

THE HISTORY

Many, many players are familiar with my old iteration of "Punish the Corrupt" and have waited patiently for me to update it. I refrained from doing that, because I was still tweaking various components of the build and it is for this reason I only updated the kit, because had I updated anything else, it would have surely been changed multiple times over. It is finally here and for now, until Frank's rework, this guide will put on full display Punisher's use of unconventional methods of both damage and utility.

TACTICS

I've decided to push the envelope even further in regards to Frank's overall TTK and with the new update to the guide, Frank will now use exclusively all his major firepower and results in Frank having more firepower than you could ever imagine. This is the real style in which Frank would approach any situation. With this new type of dynamic, you will now be focus firing dots. What I mean is that you will now stack your dots gained from all your respective fire power. The rotation will be anything from Proximity MineX3>Chemical Mine>Flechette Blast/Flamethrower>Flamethrower/Flechette Blast and finish off with Explosive Rocket. Deadly Barrage will still be every bit as powerful as it was in the previous build and it will still melt mob content with ease and allow for excellent dps at range, when journeying in Cosmic Terminals and Mines. This results in a theatrical display of fire power, explosions and face melting dots. Enjoy this new firepower and be harbinger of death that Frank Castle is.

If you are familiar with my guide, then by now you are familiar with how Punisher plays and how his various mechanics tie in together. This build is the evolved form of my previous and as such, will require more theorycrafting than the previous. Frank is pretty simple to play; stack health or damage, roll out of the way of AOE attacks and one shot mechanics and shoot stuff till it dies. Frank isn't the most flashy, nor is he pretty; Frank is simple to play, easy to learn, but requires patience and dedication to master.

This build is for Punisher's well past the 60 threshold and, because of this, I will not include a leveling guide in this build. This build is for those that don't prefer conventional methods of damage and want to go against the grain in terms of what Punisher is capable of doing.

There are 5 main attacks that this build will focus on, depending on the approach you wish to take. These attacks are Flechette Blast, Flamethrower Blast, Chemical Mine, Proximity Mine and Deadly Barrage. There are other attack powers I have invested into, such as Rifle Shot and Explosive Rocket, which are used primarily to stay at range and out of dangerous affixes you will find in cosmic content and Raids. If you so choose to drop less points into the other attacks in the build, then I'm sure you could maybe max one or two of the ones that aren't maxed, but that's not the point. Let's take a look at one of the primary components of this build, Flechette Blast.

Flechette Blast-

I know you may be scratching your head right now as to how you are going to fit all these powers into one rotation, but I will explain that shortly. Here's a look at the move in action.



The dot applied by this power is no joke and seeing that it's a basic, you can refresh it with little consequence and it meshes so well with other dot moves like Flamethrower Blast and Chemical Mine.

Next we will take a look at Deadly Barrage, the de facto leader of my guide and the premier power of the entire build. Deadly Barrage, although boring, is my favorite attack in the entire game, just as it has been since launch. That much has not changed with this guide, as it stays loyal to the core of what brought it to fruition in the first place.

Deadly Barrage-

Deadly Barrage is wildly powerful and is capable of immense carnage. It is one of the strongest channeled powers on the game and with the screens I will provide to you, you can see why I make this claim.



This is Deadly Barrage without vulnerability applied and as you can see the damage is quite astounding. At a clean 200k base brutal, Deadly Barrage wipes the floor with any and all PVE content.



Deadly Barrage with vulnerability applied results in a +20k increase in damage across the board.

The damage increases even further with Killer Instinct and other unaware bonuses factored in, as you can see in the screen below:





Another new power in this build is Flamethrower Blast. Now I know this is a controversial decision, but I will lay everything out cleanly for you all, so that you can understand why it is I made this change or rather addition. This is no way served to nerf my build in any single way, as we just dropped a passive that is completely reliant on independent factors and is only utilized 40% of the time, effectively nullifying the passive when facing boss content. I will explain further as you continue reading, but for now, here's a look a "Flamethrower Blast."

Flamethrower Blast-

This power is pure carnage. A absolutely filthy dot applied, that ticks its entire duration, even if you only use the power in short bursts to apply and move. This is a quick rotation type of build now with powers like this and as you can see below, the carnage is real.



Now recently with the inclusion of Flamethrower in my build, my kit has gained the ire of some, claiming that my build serves no purpose and such, but that can't be farther from the truth. You see, by adding a move like Flamethrower Blast to my kit, I have upped our boss killing potential greatly and allowed for better rotations when facing elite content, instead of just hammering away with Explosive Rocket and running/avoiding all cosmic content and setting yourself up to spam mines and fight at range yet again. With the inclusion of powers like Flech Blast and Flamethrower, you can now spray each power, activate two dots, throw a proximity mine, roll out of the way and add Deadly Barrage's incredible firepower to the mix. This is an amazing use of Punisher's entire kit and truly shines light on my "hotkey" idea, without it seeming useless. This is a very intricate technique, that many simply do not use, as they feel Deadly Barrage and Flamethrower simply can't co exist, but trust me when I say this; they absolutely can. Deadly Barrage is going to function to not only clean fields of whites/blues, but also gives you a huge advantage against any boss/cosmic content, now that you will be stacking 2-3 dots more with the new powers and still fighting at range with Deadly Barrage and Explosive Rocket. You are now using every single firepower skill Frank has at his disposal and at the same time learning and mastering the art of micromanagement.

The other attacks in this build function mostly for STDPS, although proximity works very well against mobs too, it's just a pain to have to keep re-throwing and re-aiming the mines to properly use them as a primary. The damage of the two attacks using my build can be seen in the screens below.

Proximity Mine-



Proximity Mines provides superb burst and with it being a spammable power, results in some huge peaks in damage for Punisher.

Explosive Rocket-



Explosive Rocket is a strong option in STDPS as well; certainly when it comes to facing elites and bosses. Explosive Rocket packs heavy and it still has the forever awesome proc that comes with DCND (Davey Crockett Nuclear Device).

* Note- Sorry that the picture doesn't have the RPG weapon featured. I wasn't able to capture it in time.

Other important features of my guide are the passives Driven by Vengeance, Killer Instinct and Pain Tolerance. It is important to use DVB, because this build does not feature Gungnir as its legendary, so in order to make up for some loss of the crit rating, you have to spec into DVB. Both PT and KI are maxed, but the overall level of the two skills, isn't all that strong.



DVB at rank 39 is giving a cool 800+ crit/brutal rating, making this practically mandatory for my build. PT and KI both serve their purpose and KI, giving +2k damage in unaware, coupled with synergies, results in more than a 30k damage increase in Deadly Barrage (which is also increased by Shield Motion Tracker).

Another aspect of this build that has drawn the ire of some, is the inclusion of the passive "Cold Blooded Crusader"can be effective as a feature in this build. Essentially, this move could replace Explosive Rocket as a feature and here is why. CBC scales in both fear duration and chance to fear, it's also an ability that is capable of activating more than once on boss content. CBC helps in a multitude of ways in that while most times you will find yourself evading with the two movement powers and struggling to avoid cosmic content to fight for space and such; the inclusion of a passive like CBC gives you a backbone you didn't once have, seeing as how this build avoids most forms of defense such as health and defensive artifacts and uniques. We have to make up for our negation of defense in the form of utility and dot rotation. It shouldn't go unnoticed how powerful this passive can be when fighting a boss that suddenly gets caught in fear, allowing you precious seconds to apply all your dots and quickly go back to fighting at range with powers like Deadly Barrage and tossing Proximity Mines (which are also amplified further by fear, so the activation of fear begins to control the battlefield more than ever before).

This I believe absolutely justifies this as a potential change and creates a build that not only melts any content it comes across, kills before it can be killed, allows the learning or rather allows the mastery of Frank's entire kit and an understanding of micromanagement, but it also allows Frank to control his surroundings more than ever before. Frank will be the architect in battle, no longer just a turret, but a mastermind of strategy, trap setting and capitalizing on every single aspect of tactical warfare, which is what I always wanted to create in the first place. That was my goal all along when I first devised this build and I feel like I have attained that cause with these recent changes (which mind you, weren't nerfs in any possible way).

Now I will show you the stats I have in this build that makes all this damage possible and it starts with my investment into critical damage and brutal damage.







The synergies I use for Frank are very similar to those I use with Loki, although this is mostly because I do not play every single hero on the game, so I'm limited to the heroes synergies I've actually played and leveled and such.

For those familiar with my previous work and the previous iteration of this guide, then you too are familiar with my "hotkey" concept that originated with this guide and a method I use in every single one of my builds. The only problem here is that this concept is not needed in this guide, because the one pointers in the guide are hardly ever used, as I only keep them around for aesthetic reasons and because I'd feel extremely uncomfortable not using my hotkey method. It's apart of who I am now and with me so used to "flying fingers" I couldn't dare to revert back to the simple keybar method.

As you may have noticed, this build does not feature a teleport power, so because of that, I use two movement powers. I use Quick Escape and Combat Lunge to navigate across maps. Combat Lunge is a neat power in that it can really get you out of messy situations, due to the chance to stun at the end of the attack. More often than not, I have used this attack to save my hide on a multitude of occasions.

A key- Combat Lunge
S key- Quick Escape
D key- Flashbang Grenade
F key- Armor Piercing Shot
G key- Explosive Rocket
H key- Loki's Ring (for the CC Breaker

Left Click (1)- Rifle Shot
Right Click- Deadly Barrage
Left Click (2)- Flechette Blast
Left Click (3)- Flamethrower Blast (this also results in the animation only triggering once switched and reverts back to him not wearing the tank after switched again)
Left Click (4)- Lock n Load
Left Click (5)- Proximity Mine
Left Click (6)- Chemical Mine

In my build I am utilizing the default key settings in Marvel Heroes; you may change these based on your playstyle.

This method takes some getting used to and will take time to master. Once you get used to it, you will notice seamless transition between tactical gunfire and trap-setting.

GEAR



This is where the build becomes realized and throughout your journey into min/maxing and your pursuits of optimizing your Punisher build, you will find yourself, more often than not, changing gear more so than you will find yourself re-speccing. It is here that you will begin theory crafting and making small nuances to continue to push the envelope as far as DPS matters are concerned. Setting up your kit is the easy part, it is through itemization that Frank's complexity begins to show.

So, where to begin, you ask?

Start with determining what it is you seek to accomplish. I'd imagine, by reading my guides, your pursuit is that of damage and optimizing damage. You may also ask yourself "with so many damage sources, which area should I focus on and why?"

For the purpose of sticking to the theme of my build, you will focus on crit damage and brutal damage. This pursuit will require dedication and patience, along with some tough gear choices. The first thing to factor in when it comes to this type of concept is to start building crit damage any way you can as crit damage also influences brutal damage. You will start doing this by applying crit damage affixes to your costume.



Next you must consider which artifact choices to make and with all the amazing updates artifacts have received, the choice isn't as clear cut as it once was. For me, because I went the way of crit damage/brutal damage on every other option, I decided I'd focus on base, physical damage for my artifact choices. Note that ACCC and ACOC is +1000 damage you can get just by itemizing. SMT is always a clear cut winner in any Punisher DPS driven build and Advanced Meta is a universal powerhouse for damage. The other notables are Bowazon and Grim Reaper medal. Bowazon is chosen specifically because it gives 500 damage rating and the 300 critical rating is so vital to this build, because Gungnir is not featured. Grim Reaper medal synergizes perfectly with pretty much any Punisher build, but it does exceptionally well in this build, because of it's bonuses to not only brutal damage, but also physical damage. The regeneration and spirit on kill is like Punisher's synergy on steroids.





Another great artifact for Frank to use is the newly released "Danger's A.I Chip." This is an all purpose artifact that will essentially replace "Shield Motion Tracker," which really only buffed Deadly Barrage, by applying a 600 flat damage rating to the power. Now while that is nice and all, this artifact does exactly that and more. You are also going to take less damage from attacks, which I can't stress enough how vital that is to a build so starved of defense, that not only has PT maxed out, also uses Hercules Sandals as a slotted unique. This will mesh with both these aspects of my build and allow for almost literally the same damage output with Deadly Barrage and also up the damage of every other power in his kit that I use, that was not buffed by SMT.

Now the next piece of the puzzle may be practically impossible to gain and would take a rather large surplus of items to acquire, but luckily for me, I found when farming Taskmaster for his new artifact. Needless to say, my jaw dropped like a 1000 plates just crashed to the ground. 1000 steel ton plates, crashing to the ground.



I almost made the mistake of trading this, but in hindsight, there is probably nothing on the game worthy of trading that would cause me to give this up. It would take far longer to acquire an insignia with as perfect stats as these, than it would to acquire a GOK and an HOD. Should you ever come across such a powerful insignia, then by God keep it. The RNG rates on epic insignias is literally Bermuda to the rest of the game. Luckily for you, this is by far the hardest component to acquire in regards to my guide and not having it, will not break your build (assuming you are modeling yours after my own).

Uniques

Punisher isn't the toughest to find uniques for, because mostly, he uses his own uniques for slots (1 and 5 most notably). But, because this build is focused on DPS, there are two significant changes in his unique set. Take a look:



His old faithful companion and best in slot for most DPS builds, Sword Gun. Sword Gun is practically impossible to give up for those focused on his firepower tree, due to its hefty collection of bonuses to brutal damage, crit damage, base damage, crit/brutal chance, along with the pluses to firepower. It also gives a passive dot to all his attacks, though most notably, his Shotgun Basic, which pretty much assures you, that you don't have to go after Flechette Blast, because not only is Shotgun stronger, faster, you add the dot from Sword Gun to it...then Flechette Blast loses in every single category.



Another incredibly important component of my build is this unique right here. By far the best in slot DPS unique for Punisher in slot 2. This unique does it all. It gives defense, by providing Punisher with projectile deflection. It boosts his mobility, by giving a nice strong boost to his movement speed. It boosts his DPS in extreme amounts by giving bonuses to area powers (a mechanic which mind you, is pretty much 90% of his entire kit). It helps tremendously with Punisher's critical chance, especially because there aren't many areas in this build where critical chance is being utilized, so having it in slot 2 is absolutely crucial to making the most out of this build.



Another, practically mandatory component of this build is his easily acquirable "The Whole Nine Yards " unique. There is really no other slot 3 unique as well rounded as this one for Frank, less of course your aim is defense. This unique doesn't provide much in the way of defense (besides the strong health affix), but what it doesn't provide in defense, it makes up for in offense. +6 to all Firepower skills and bonuses to damage base on how close you are really helps skills like Shotgun Blast and Proximity Mine; two powers that are premier features of this build. The spirit cost reduction from both the affix and the bonuses to "Lock n' Load" is just gravy.



This is the piece I refer to as the "hidden gem." This piece is so amazing with the damage rating, taking less damage and +2 to all powers, that it behooves me that I didn't transition to this piece sooner than I did. This unique was actually used in my Loki build (my Glorious Purpose guide can also be found on the site). I farmed cosmic Hood more than 500 times until finally he dropped his Nisanti Boots. I thought once I found those boots, I'd use them with Frank, but as it turns out, the more I thought about it, damage was my primary goal all along. The boots gives amazing bonuses to many aspects like brutal rating, taking less damage and a incredible invisible proc, when below 30% health. The problem there is, this build isn't in the least bit defensive, so the time I'd spent optimizing that proc would be very minimal. It was then that I decided i'd take Loki's "Hercules Sandals" and use them on Frank instead, while using the "Nisanti Boots" on Loki (which at the same time boosts Loki's dps levels as well, because with Nisanti Boots and Nisanti Cloak, I'm gaining an additional +1000 damage to unaware targets). Overall the transition was a huge success and I couldn't be happier with it. If you have these remarkable specimens, use them, use them and never look back, because there is not a better DPS option available. The only other option I could think of is the "Ninja Tabi" but those don't give +2 to all powers nor do they increase defense in any way, besides an invisible proc with a treacherously long cool down of one minute.



This piece right here will serve as a DPS switch in piece for when you are battling boss content, as it greatly increases Frank's DPS and what more, it synergizes with the Omega Build in place. Using this unique; however, requires you to develop a strategy so that the DPS gained from it stays constant and allows you to get the most out of this slot piece.

The main strategy is to basically "wound" Frank during combat and then commence with the "tactical combat" I have outlined throughout this entire guide. The best way to wound Punisher is to stand in cosmic rings, until your health reaches half (if your build is anything like mine and all you have is about 13.5 k health, then you will want to reach at least 6800 before you commence with your attack). After you are wounded prepare for extremely fast paced combat, as you are going to not only going to be using your primary rotation of Proximity MinesX2>Chemical Mine>Flamethrower Blast>Flechette Blast>Deadly Barrage/Explosive Rocket, you are also going to be kiting like a mad man, making sure to stay alive as you mercilessly melt away your foe. By using my guide, you are more than likely familiar with how to do this by using his two movement powers Combat Lunge and Evasive Roll. Make sure once your shields go up, to immediately close the distance as fast as you can and spam your Proximity Mines and then retreat back and fire away with Deadly Barrage.

This same tactic is going to be used when raiding, as I will explain further as you continue reading.



A personal touch to any Punisher build, especially if you plan on featuring the explosive tree. Aside from the always cool "Nuke" proc that this unique provides, it is a major benefactor to Punisher's entire kit; not just his explosive tree. The extra radius helps tremendously with Deadly Barrage's range, and this becomes even more noticeable when you realize this build does not use a Power Prism Shard or even Doc Oc's medal. So the added range gained from DCND is crucial and there is no other option for a slot 5 unique for this build. This unique services all the DPS needs you could possibly have and does so by granting bonuses to critical damage, damage rating and even more damage rating and a splash of critical rating. This unique is a godsend. Use it and idolize its majesty.

That wraps up the unique section of this guide and now we move onto the final piece of the guide.

THE LEGENDARY



There is a long, on going debate going on as to what Legendary is best for Punisher. The debate argues for the likes of "Casket of Ancient Winters," "Gungnir," "Savage Axe of Ares," and finally "Excalibur." There doesn't seem to be a clear cut winner; however, what I will say is that literally none of the damage numbers you have seen thus far from reading my guide are possible without Ultimate Nullifier. For a long time I was content to use Gungnir on Frank. After seeing so many people settling to put Gungnir on every toon left and right, it became a bore to have to be a sheep to the tactic and that is simply not my style. I felt depraved of my creativity and innovative spirit, so I finally decided enough was enough when the Legendary review came around. It was then that I had to make a choice as to whether or not I was going to choose Savage Axe of Ares or go the more difficult route of acquiring Ultimate Nullifier. After a long internal battle with myself and , I was left with no other choice than to go with Ultimate Nullifier and thus began the creation of this guide.

RAID

Everyone is going to want to take part in Raids now that they are becoming more prominent and allow users to chase all new forms of Challenge Bonus Gear. This gear is extremely effective for min/maxers and is the main reason that Raids are so popular amongst that type of gamer. However, to get this gear you must first find a way to succeed in the mode and if you are like me, you will want to prove all your favorite toons viable, so to avoid having to use the best/highest tier heroes. That's where I come in, as I am going to lay out the exact tactics I use with Frank when I raid with him and how these tactics will bring you great success in the mode, while using our favorite, ruthless vigilante, Frank Castle.

ENCOUNTER 1 - The first encounter that players are to overcome when venturing into RAID territory and it is perhaps the most annoying; not because it's hard, but simply because the first encounter consists of this HUGE map that forces Frank to run across the entirety of the terrain that consists of huge rivers of lava that damage you over time as you make your way through, slaying enemies along the way and trying desperately to keep up with your colleagues.

After this stage of the encounter you are then met with a two way battle that requires you to adopt some pretty serious coordination between you and your team.

The first part of understanding how this encounter works is how to correctly use the "buffs" supplied to you in the battle. Each Boss (one on the far left and the other on the far right) debuffs the player as time passes and damage is done. What these debuffs do is essentially nullify all of your damage and crippling your DPS, which is especially bad considering that you only have 10 minutesto dispose of each boss (they both share the same timer as well), so there isn't much time to dilly dally. The buffs you will see in the battle are a "red" buff and a "yellow" buff and are attained by slaughtering the trash mobs on the battlefield; however, you must acquire these buffs BEFORE engaging the two bosses (except for the first time when you awake them, in which case you will have a good 35 seconds or so to wail away at each boss respectively). Once the two bosses are awakened and you have already done your first switch, that is when you start to farm the buffs and kite as fast as you can to each boss. The best way to approach these debuffs is to first find the sweet spot for switching. Switching is a coordinated method that is extremely important during these encounters, as once you have reached at least 50 debuffs as a group (essentially 50 seconds), you then start to do drastically less DPS, effectively nullifying your damage against the boss and crippling your efforts to stay ahead of the Enrage Timer. For me the sweet spot for switching is actually 30 stacks, as opposed to the 35 stacks that my group usually switches on. The reason we switch 5 seconds faster than our team is because of the fact that Frank has pathetic kiting and if you switch too late, you become a detriment to your team and we don't want that. So what you are going to do, because you are switching 5 seconds early, is you are going to leave a parting gift before departing and moving towards the next boss. This parting gift will come in the form of a Chemical Mine and a burst of damage from both your Flamethrower Blast and Flechette Blast. What this does is allow you to still supply some dps for your team in the form of a dot, as they wail away at the boss for a few more seconds and you move towards the next boss and pick up your respective buff for that boss. Sustained DPS is the name of the game for these encounters.

This encounter also requires the player to have extremely keen understanding of kiting mechanics and how to best use them and maintain the required levels of DPS. As we all know from playing Punisher, he has terrible mobility and to some this can be an absolute turn off when approaching this type of content. You won't suffer this, as you will use both his movement powers to escape the terrors abound in this encounter and this brings me to my next point, combat.

The combat in this battle isn't very complicated, but it can be frustrating if you don't have your two movement powers mastered. During battle there will be multiple instances where you are forces to stop attacking and evade meteors that the bosses summon; however, each boss goes about doing this in slightly different ways. Let's start with battling the left boss (the big fat one) and how to best fight him.

Left Side Boss - Has three main attacks: A melee attack, a "hail attack" and a AOE meteor attack.

Melee - An attack in which he obliterates anyone caught within range of the ground smash, though Frank won't really have to worry about this, being a range fighter and all. It's important to time this attack's sequence correctly, as you will have very little time to apply your primary rotation of Proximity MinesX2>Chemical Mine>Flamethrower Blast>Flechette Blast>Deadly Barrage/Explosive Rocket before the next attack starts. (You will likely want to use Explosive Rocket as the finisher for to this sequence as you will be very close and won't have much room to miss firing it).

AOE - Signaled by a "red" ring around the boss, in which case if you are caught within this ring, you will likely be one shotted and forced to kite back to the boss. You do not want to be caught in this attack, unless you have your shield activate in which case during the attack you will lunge in very close and fire away with your primary rotation outlined throughout this guide.

Hail - This attack is harder to distinguish, because the "orange" rings that appear to warn of the attack are very hard to spot and blend in very well with the immediate environment, so you have to be very vigilant with this attack. Likely just spam your Proximity Mines and a couple of Chemical Mines and fire away with Deadly Barrage, when this attack sequence is active.

Now that you have a understanding of how the left side boss operates, let's take a look at the right side boss.

Right Side Boss- Not nearly as diverse in its attacks as the left side boss, as this boss will focus mainly on melee champs and utilizes mostly melee attacks; even the "hail" type attack this boss uses has a very limited vicinity which is mostly found around the boss. This attack isn't hard to avoid and doesn't really force you to approach this boss any differently than you would any opponent. You will still be able to use your primary rotational method with ease and with comfort.

Don't be too comfortable though, because the methods we will use during these boss battles is different than most other players will dare to use. A huge component of this build is its Omega Build and more specifically the Hulk Rage node of the Omega Build. We are going to want to have this proc active at all times during combat, so we will be forcing Frank to fight wounded, while also equipping the Last Chance Serrated Boot Knife to further boost our damage when injured to and keep our DPS in line with our teammates. The main reason for this is because Frank doesn't have very solid STDPS (single target damage per second), so we have to adopt other means of boosting his dps in ways others do not. The best way to injure Frank is to stand in the "fire pits" during each respective boss fight. Whereas most players are going to want to avoid these fire pits, we are going to want to jog lightly through them until we have reached 50% health, in which case a green aura (Hulk Rage) will surround Punisher, signaling that the proc is now in effect, thus also signaling that the proc from the unique is also in effect.

During your first encounter with either boss (meaning right at the very beginning when you awaken them) you are going to want to activate your ULTIMATE and if you're like me then you'll have leveled your ultimate quite a bit (mines is at level 9). If you have your at least that high, this means you will suffer a significantly less dire cooldown of 8 minutes (down from 10 minutes). The significance of this is that this encounter forces an Enrage Timer of 10 minutes on your group and once that timer reaches 0, the bosses become devastatingly more powerful, making it almost impossible to complete your objective forcing you to start over. By using your ultimate in the beginning you essentially give yourself breathing room, should you reach the 2 minute mark and have to use your ultimate again in order to stay ahead of the timer.

That pretty much covers the first encounter and the combat and method of strategy required to succeed against these two bosses.

Also remember that each boss you face requires that your TTK be at least 27 seconds (or Under 30 seconds). The best way to test your TTK is to go to the Training Room and on the bottom left of the screen (or the middle of the room), you will see a dummy titled DPS Dummy. This dummy has significantly more health than the dummy at the top left of the screen or the BOSS Dummy. Work on getting your TTK to at least 30 seconds and gradually improve it from there and by doing this gain complete mastery over your combat rotations and finger speed.

ENCOUNTER 2 - Right after you finish Encounter 1 you are then set off to conquer your next challenge, Slag. Slag isn't the most complicated boss to read, much less figure out; however, if you struggle in the DPS area of the game you likely will only serve as a detriment to your team. By following my guide, you won't have any such issues, as the entire premise of this build is DPS, DPS, DPS.

There are two roles (perhaps 3) that the player can assume in this encounter: those two roles are that of Boss Slayer or Prisoner Defender, with the third role being a hybrid of those two roles. Seeing as how Punisher doesn't have great mobility and no inherent "radar," you will likely play the role of "Boss Slayer" for your team. Most times to be a prisoner defender for your team you have to defend preferably 3 prisoners, although sometimes a member will be asked to defend two prisoners and those two prisoners would be that of VI and V (4 and 5). The reason for this is because these two are very close to each other and don't require great mobility to manage; however, it is a detriment for Frank, who doesn't have a radar to look at the map, to see when an Archer has spawned. Archer's are the primary focus for those that defend prisoners, because they are the only type of enemy that can harm the enemies, as all the other spawns that appear simply serve as diversions. You have to muster up pure STDPS to deal with these guys ASAP or else the damage they do accumulates fast and it becomes easier and easier for them to dispose of the prisoner.

What is the significance of a prisoner and why should I protect them, when I could be DPSing down Slag?

Once a prisoner has been defeated Slag heals and should more than one prisoner be failed, the whole mission of eliminating slag because more and more bleek. This wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the Enrage Timer in place, otherwise you could manage to let one or two prisoners die and still down slag, by putting those players on boss slaying duty, but it's just never that simple.

It is for all the reasons above that Punisher will primarily serve as a Boss Slayer for this encounter.

As a boss slayer, your job is to commit as much STDPS to your group as you can while surviving all of Slag's attacks, kiting and keeping the pressure as you work together with your group to finish Slag.

The tactics for this battle are pretty straight forward; however, there are some things of note that I need to share with you in order to make sure you succeed. The first is that as a "Boss Slayer" you will start off the battle with Slag by using your ULTIMATE. Likely your group will want to have these ultimates cycled, so to provide the most efficient DPS give and take from using them. If your ultimate isn't much leveled, then I wouldn't worry about using it and instead save it for when you are killed so you don't sacrifice DPS by having to run back and continue the assault with your group. If you have it leveled and you follow the steps and ideas expressed in this guide, then it'd be best to use it once you are at 50% health (likely use it to start, because you will heal upon using it) and once at 50% health, make sure you have your Serrated Boot Knife equipped to enjoy the full damage offered to you by the build and Omega Build in place. You will likely employ this same tactic throughout the entire fight, meaning that will want to fight at 50% health the entire time to make sure your DPS is standard to the DPS your group is dishing out. The best way to do this is to first understand the pattern of attacks that Slag will use and learn what to wound yourself from and what to avoid.

With that said, I am going to go over Slag's various attacks and what you can and cannot be caught by in order to wound Punisher.

Slag - Slag has three (maybe 4) main attacks: those main attacks are a melee attack, an AOE devastating attack and a DOT attack. The attacks are as follows, with their various effects and consequences.

Melee - Slag slams his huge club into the ground causing significant damage, though not enough to outright kill you. You can weather this attack and get in close to lay mines and shoot off a burst of Flamethrower + Flechette Blast. Sometimes he will repeat this move and then follow up with a much heavier attack.

AOE - Slag's most fearful attack that results in an instant kill for anyone caught by it, no matter how high their defense/health. He does give off an animation before doing this attack, so it's not to difficult to time; however, due to Frank's poor kiting abilities, you will likely want to time this attack before he attempts it, because even if you catch him during his animation windup it is very likely he will catch you after he crashes to the ground, resulting in as I stated earlier, an instant death. Your best method of action for this move, will be to have yourself purposefully wounded from his prior melee attack and stay just out of range from his attack. by rolling accordingly after your prior rotation. You will do this BEFORE he commences this attack, so you will need to know the radius of this attack and roll just outside of that range after being wounded. This will allow you to take advantage of your berserker procs and dish out some serious damage. The next part is absolutely key to succeeding, as you have to make sure not to lock up during this, as he can prove vulnerable if you time your rotations right and angle your attacks accordingly. You will want to make sure your cursor is on him at all times during his animation windup and finish and then throw your mine rotation at him, that being Proximity Mines(X2) and Chemical Mine. After this he should land directly on the mines if you placed them correctly and now you will want to sweep in with your combat roll+lunge and let off your Flamethrower/Flechette Blast combination. Then quickly retreat back and let off some shots with your Explosive Rocket. Make sure to hit him dead center with this move to enjoy its full effect. Likely by this time you will have healed over 50% and have to get re-injured or risk being killed by his melee attack, which brings up my next method.

DOT - Slag's DOT move is going to be your primary method of getting injured, as it is easy to escape out of and even juggle health in, should you require such a method. An animation will occur around your character (a ring like animation) signaling that flames are about to erupt beneath you. If you stand through this animation, you will become rooted, now if you become rooted, you need to make sure to have your CC breaker off its cooldown to quickly escape this, as the fire that erupts quickly eats away at your health and CAN KILL YOU. You can manage this attack one of two ways: either you can wait out the animation and become rooted, then cast your CC breaker and roll out injured or you can wait till the animation has complete and the rooting animation has ended, thus leaving only the fire area on the ground that will burn for a few seconds and as the dot continues until it dies roll through it and injure yourself then back off and let off a stream of bullets with Deadly Barrage (my brutals doing this injured exceed over 250k). You can also stand in the dot and fire away until your health reaches a dangerous state and then health at about the 25% mark and then continue firing away; this method is actually your best STDPS method as it allows you to not only keep on a continued stream of attack, you don't have to be so lively kiting all over the place to avoid death blows, thus giving you some form of comfort on the battle field.

Follow these steps exactly and before you know it you team will be cheering in glee that Slag has fallen, as you will have contributed your part by keeping up incredibly potent forms of dot rotational attacks and a steady stream attack with Deadly Barrage, while enjoying the full benefits of your Omega Build and berserker method of attack. This method of attack standardizes your DPS with Punisher using this build to be up to par with the DPS dished out by your team.

ENCOUNTER 3

The easiest of all the encounters you will face in Raids, as there really isn't much to go over here, but I'll see what I can do.

Well you start the battle out facing alongside your team a monument, known simply as the Monolith. You'll then commence attacking the Monolith until both NPC's (Fandral and Volstagg) signal that the Oblelisks are reacting and you must protect them. The Obelisk is the primary objective during this battle, as you will spend 95% of the battle protecting the Obelisk and gunning down trash mobs and archers.

By getting this far, I'd imagine that you are familiar with the archers and the purpose they serve on the battlefield. These will be the same archers from encounter 2 and mostly possess the same amount of health and appear in the same annoying abundance of numbers. The key here is to understand first your role during this encounter and if you are with a coordinated group, you will likely be told what your role is.

For starters, you serve as the back end of all the action going on, in that you are going to clear the screen for your colleagues. You are going to be tasked with melting down the elite archers and champion archers, while also avoiding picking up the buffs the champion archers (the yellow ones) drop when killed.

The buffs dropped by these guys are usually handled by top tier raid heroes like Black Panther or Wolverine. Likely if you have one of those guys in your group, they will likely be the designated handler of the buffs.

What do the buffs do?

Well the buff essentially gives you a significant damage increase against the Monolith. None of the other enemies on screen are affected by the buffs, so when one is active you best hurry towards the tower and give your best DPS rotation and then scurry back to your group. Again, as Punisher you will want to avoid picking up these buffs, as you will be shunned if you pick them up and let them go to waste. It wouldn't be so bad to pick them up if Punisher had better mobility, but because that isn't the case and you pick them up anyway and attempt to fulfill the role as it is active, you will likely have very few seconds (3-5) to do any actual damage to the Monolith, maybe not even then.

The next thing of concern during this encounter is that of the Fire Giants that spawn at random intervals during the battle. Their main purpose is to disrupt the flow of the battle and essentially lose lives over fighting them; however, there is a method of disposing of these guys and it is critical to the success of this encounter. If you are targeted by a Fire Giant, you will be notified on screen that it has happened. If that happens, you are then to lure them through the firepits that spawn from defeating the champion archers. After they are lit, a blue ring will appear in the center of their body, thus notifying you that they will self-destruct at any time. Once this happens quickly kite them into the Monolith and make sure to kite them directly into the tower. After that has happened they will stop and explode, dealing damage to all players within the immediate vicinity (this can sometimes result in a death).

Repeat these steps as necessary until all Obelisks have activated, greatly weakening the Monolith and allowing for hasty disposal of the Boss of the encounter. Likely, once this happens just rush to the middle of the map alongside everyone else and if your ultimate is off its cooldown (or if you saved) it then activate and pull your best DPS rotations. If everything is done right, the Monolith should fall within a matter of seconds.

This guide is by far the work I am most proud of and what I believe to be my most grand work of them all. To everyone that has followed me since I began putting up these guides, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me and being inspired by my work. If it wasn't for the continued praise and devotion from the player base in regards to my work with Punisher, I would have dropped doing this a long time ago.

Again I thank you for the support and I hope to continue to inspire the Punisher player base.

I'll see you all again in a few months when Punisher's rework peers its glorious head.

-Godspeed

Love, Scourm.